People baffled as US government encourages Americans to help pay off country's $36 trillion debt through PayPal and Venm

People have been left confused after realising you can donate to bring down the cost of America's national debt.

Although the concept has been around for a while, people are just finding out that the Treasury Department is accepting donations - via PayPal and Venmo - to chip away at the national debt, which currently stands at $36.7 trillion.

NPR's Jack Corbett shared a screengrab on X earlier this week, explaining: "You can venmo the United States to help pay off the national debt."

And people have been left baffled, with many not realising the system existed.

Those who fancy donating simply head to pay.gov where donations can be made via credit card, debit card, PayPal, checking account or savings account. You can also write a cheque via post.
The online form states: "Thank you for your contribution which will be deposited to the account 'Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt.'

"Your contribution is accepted under the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 3113 which authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to accept conditional gifts to the United States for the purpose of reducing the public debt.

"These donations are voluntary, and no goods, services, or other considerations are provided to the donors."

The online form states: "Thank you for your contribution which will be deposited to the account 'Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt.'

https://www.ladbible.com/news/us-news/donation-us-treasury-department-america-national-debt-858478-20250727